(Reuters) -
Former President Jimmy Carter and wife Rosalynn will visit Cuba next
week to meet with President Raul Castro and discuss ways to improve
U.S.-Cuba relations, a Carter spokeswoman said on Friday.

The visit, made at the
invitation of the Cuban government, raised the possibility that Carter
would get involved in the case of U.S. aid contractor Alan Gross,
recently sentenced to 15 years in prison for providing illegal Internet
access to Cuban groups.

The case has strained U.S.-Cuba relations after a brief warming under President Barack Obama.